Car Safety: How to Upgrade your Car Headlights this Season #DIY #Safety

I spend a good portion of my life in my car.  When I really stop and think about it, I would easily say that I spend (on average) 3-4 hours a day in my car (with and without my family of 7). From morning drop-off to preschool and then off to work meetings (many times 30-40 minutes away from my home); to after-school activities with my children (our swim team is 30 minutes away); to just general – need-to-get-done chores – the time I spend in my car seems to be quite a lot!

With all of this time in my car, and with the fall season completely in full swing here in Rhode Island, much of my driving is done at night. I’m not someone who is afraid of night driving, it’s just part of my normal routine. In order to get my kids to their swim practice and CCD classes throughout the fall and winter months, it’s done during “dark” hours. Darkness settles in here at around 6:00 pm, which is MUCH different than during the summer months, and is something that we must adjust to. Safety on the roads is a very crucial issue to think about and it’s something that hopefully runs through the minds of everyone on the roads. When it comes to my family’s safety, we’re very good at keeping our car (2013 Chevy Suburban) up-to-date on the types of things that we “know” to do:

  • Routine Oil Changes
  • Checking the Tire Pressure
  • Checking the Windshield Wipers (keeping fluid to the max)

These are the things I think about and make sure we’re always on top of, but there’s something I don’t really think too much about, and it’s something that really needs to be taken seriously when it comes to safety for you and your family while you’re driving at night – condition of your headlights. Nighttime driving is important year round as driver visibility is a vital contributor to the safety of drivers and their families. The safety of your headlights is even more important during daylight savings time as it gets darker earlier. Headlights are a driver’s first line of defense from an accident, but it is often not something drivers consider as a vital maintenance item alongside windshield wipers and tires.

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I’ve partnered with SYLVANIA this season to share the importance of safety during nighttime driving for driver visibility and how this can easily be accomplished by upgrading your headlights. The best part is that upgrading your headlights is an EASY task that you can do yourself at home. It’s cost effective and something that will truly ensure safety for you and your family each time you’re behind the wheel. Upgrading to better down-road headlight bulbs can help add more visibility, which can equate to additional reaction time. A headlight switch to a product like SYLVANIA’s SilverStar® ULTRAs provides a brighter light for more clarity, which helps maximize down-road visibility.

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When my family started this project with SYLVANIA, I hadn’t even thought about the power of our headlights. With my busy life, I would just hop into the car with the kids and head off to the next thing on our list of activities. My main concern with the kids has always been seat belt safety, car seat safety, making sure we have enough gas to get to where we needed to be and making sure the car was running smoothly. That was it. I was used to our headlights, of course, but never thought anything about them until we upgraded. I took a video of us driving home with our original headlights on at night (while it was raining), and you can clearly see that one of our headlights (the right one) is much more dim than the left. It wasn’t until I was thinking about looking at them, that really made me see this important difference. Talk about safety? I mean, we were virtually driving around with one working headlight! When we made the upgrade with the SYLVANIA SilverStar® ULTRAs, the difference was shocking to me.

Take a look:

Let me tell you about the SYLVANIA SilverStar® ULTRA headlight bulbs that we’re now using and why they’re a great option for us. The SYLVANIA SilverStar® ULTRA headlight bulbs have whiter and brighter light for more clarity, as you can easily see in my video. They provide additional side-road and down-road visibility compared to your basic headlight bulbs.

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They help drivers identify and react sooner to road hazards such as debris, animals, disabled vehicles or pedestrians. Being able to see street signs and road markings more clearly can help a driver with increased reaction time. Not to mention, whiter light also improves contrast, allowing a driver to better distinguish objects on the side of the road… all without increasing glare for oncoming traffic. I also want to make sure that I mention that the cost of the headlights is extremely cost effective at around $45.

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Remember this for yourself and your car — headlights can dim over time, so replacement before burnout is a great idea. You might not even realize (like me) that your headlights have dimmed or are yellowed. Another easy way to do this, if you can’t remember the last time they were replaced (or at all), it’s a good idea to have it done. Don’t forget how quickly you can do this on your own at home. If you need assistance because you don’t know much about cars or their inner workings, ask a friend or neighbor (or spouse!) to help you out! In just 10 minutes, we upgraded our headlights to brand new ones!

I want to thank SYLVANIA for partnering with me on this project. I hadn’t known the seriousness of upgrading my headlights until seeing first-hand the true difference. I’m all about safety with my family and I hadn’t even realized just how unsafe it was to be driving around with the headlights that I was using. Take the time to check your headlights and upgrade this season.

For more information head over here.

Disclosure: Sponsored posting. All opinions are 100% my own.

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About Audrey

Audrey McClelland has been a digital influencer since 2005. She’s a mom of 5 and shares tips on her three favorite things: parenting, fashion and beauty. She’s also a Contemporary Romance Author.

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14 Comments

  1. 10.31.16
    Saidah said:

    I live in a dark rural area and really need to install these. I looked at them briefly while in Walmart. They would make seeing the deer in the road a lot easier.

  2. 11.1.16
    Jenny said:

    Even though my car is new I had to have my headlights adjusted the beams weren’t set right! I hate driving at night and having good headlights is so important!

  3. 11.1.16
    Neely Moldovan said:

    This is so important. I live in an area with terrible lighting and its soooo hard to see cars at night!

  4. 11.1.16
    Michele said:

    I am sort of night blind at this stage of my life and DREAD having to drive in the dark–it sometimes is necessary. I am certainly not mechanical but I have a garage that does all my maintenance. I will ask them if they can get and put these in for me.

  5. 11.1.16
    CourtneyLynne said:

    Ooooo thanks for this reminder!!! I would of never thought to check my headlights for winter! You definitely don’t want one of those going out.

  6. 11.1.16
    Elizabeth O said:

    Car safety is important all around the clock; especially at night time. Having and checking to make sure we have solid headlights is imperative.

  7. 11.1.16
    Scott said:

    I’ve been changing my own headlamps since before I was out of high school. It is SOOO much easier now than it used to be!

  8. 11.1.16
    Brandy said:

    This is great, I have always called my Dad over to do the whole headlight thing lol Maybe now that I am 35 I should start doing it on my own like a big girl 😉

  9. 11.2.16
    Carrie said:

    I never thought about how important headlights were until we moved to Northern Norway… In the Winter months we have 24 hours of darkness for 3 months… and leading up to that period and out of that period we have a lot of time we are driving that it is dark. It is so important to be able to see properly while driving. Especially since they aren’t a lot of street lamps around here.

  10. 11.2.16

    my night vision has definitely gotten worse over the years and dim headlights would make it even worse. I am pretty good about car maintenance but havent checked mine in a while. Thanks for the reminder!

  11. 11.2.16
    Mel said:

    This is great information to have for sure! I am glad you shared it, I need to check my headlights and upgrade them!

  12. 11.2.16

    Oh goodness! I’ve never even thought about updating my headlights.. unless one is actually out. That makes sense that they would dim over time. Thanks for the info!

  13. 11.2.16

    I had no idea that it was so important to upgrade your headlights. I usually leave car stuff to my husband but I should be more proactive about winterizing and caring for my car.

  14. 11.2.16
    Sarah said:

    Haha this reminds me I have a headlight out! THANKS you, I have to change that.

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